One Big Bat becomes a Giant

Carlos Beltran is officially a member of the San Francisco Giants. The Mets completed their trade of Beltran this morning, after the star outfielder agreed to waive his no-trade clause. The move clears the way for the team to acquire prized pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.

The teams agreed on the deal Wednesday, and Beltran left the Mets to join the Giants in Philadelphia Wednesday evening. But as per Beltran’s 10-and-5 status (10 years of major-league service; five years with the same team), he had to wait 24 hours before formally approving it.

It is rare for a team to acquire an elite prospect for a two-month rental such as Beltran, who will be a free agent this winter. The Mets’ leverage in the deal was further weakened by the fact that under the terms of his contract, Beltran cannot be offered arbitration at season’s end, meaning the Giants cannot receive compensatory draft picks if he leaves as a free agent.

But the Giants badly needed a bat to bolster their offense. And coming off a championship in 2010, the opportunity to boost chances for a repeat in 2011 was too good to pass up. “We feel like we have a window right now to win another championship,” Giants president Larry Baer said in an interview Thursday morning. “What it came down to for us was, do we have enough other pitching that will be here around the time Zack will be ready to pitch in the majors? And we felt like the answer is yes.”